Stockwinners Market Radar for June 18, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:10 EDT Biohaven and Royalty Pharma enter funding and stock purchase agreement - Biohaven Pharmaceutical and Royalty Pharma announced that Biohaven has sold tiered, sales-based participation rights on future global net sales of products containing rimegepant or BHV-3500 and certain derivative compounds thereof to Royalty Pharma for $100 million. Royalty Pharma has also agreed to purchase $50.0 million in common shares of Biohaven, at a price of $45.00 per share, representing an approximately 19% premium over the 15-day volume-weighted average price through June 15, 2018.This total of $150 million funding, in addition to current cash on hand, provides Biohaven the resources to support the company's rimegepant development program through NDA filing, progression of BHV-3500 into Phase 2, advancement of the glutamate modulator platform, and further development of the company's earlier pipeline and clinical infrastructure. The participation rate commences at 2.10 percent on global annual net sales of products up to and equal to $1.5 billion, declining to 1.50 percent on global annual net sales of products exceeding $1.5 billion. These transactions are expected to provide sufficient cash to fund operations through the end of 2019.

18:50 EDT On The Fly: After Hours Movers - HIGHER: Viveve Medical (VIVE) up 21.8% after positive UIS data... Acadia Pharmaceutical (ACAD) up 3.3% after Point72 discloses stake... Fluent (FLNT) up 1.7% after CEO disclosed purchase of stock... Colgate Palmolive (CL) up 1.1% after stock buyback. LOWER: PagSeguro Digital (PAGS) down 7.0% after equity offering... Tellurian (TELL) down 5.3% after equity offering... Easterly Government Properties (DEA) down 3.9% after equity offering.

18:16 EDT Fluent CEO discloses purchase of $250K in common stock - Fluent CEO Ryan Schulke disclosed in a filing that he has purchased 100K shares of common stock at $2.50 per share. The total transaction value was $250K.

17:31 EDT Qorvo names Paul Fego as corporate VP of global operations - Qorvo announced the appointment of Paul J. Fego, as corporate vice president, global operations, effective July 30, 2018. Mr. Fego will report to Bob Bruggeworth, president and chief executive officer of Qorvo, and will assume responsibility for Qorvo's global operations, including internal and external wafer fabrication, assembly and test technology and manufacturing.

17:09 EDT General Dynamics awarded $225M U.S. Navy contract modification - General Dynamics is awarded a $225,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract for economic ordering quantity material associated with the fiscal 2019 through fiscal 2023 Virginia class submarines. Work is expected to be completed January 2019.

17:07 EDT Harris, Motorola Solutions to compete for $495M contract from U.S. Army - Harris Corp (HRS), Motorola Solutions (MSI), Linthicum Heights, Maryland; Icom America Inc., Kirkland, Washington; E.F. Johnson Co., Irving, Texas; and Relm Communications Inc., Melbourne, Florida, will compete for each order of the $495,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for land mobile radio supplies and services. Bids were solicited via the Internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 17, 2023.

17:02 EDT Black Stone Minerals names Jeff Wood president - Black Stone Minerals announced that Jeff Wood has been appointed as President of the Partnership in addition to his current role as Chief Financial Officer. Thomas L. Carter, Jr. will continue as Black Stone Minerals' Chief Executive Officer and Chairman. "Jeff brings over 20 years of relevant leadership experience in the energy industry and has done an excellent job overseeing our financing strategy in his current position," said Mr. Carter. "I am excited for him to take a broader leadership role with this promotion to President, and look forward to working with him and the rest of our outstanding management team to continue to deliver value for Black Stone's unit holders."

16:55 EDT Bigger Capital Fund reports 9.4% passive stake in Trovagene

16:45 EDT Point72 Asset Management reports 5.2% passive stake in Acadia

16:38 EDT Cinemark and Cineworld acquire remaining stake in NationalCineMedia for $156.8M - Cineworld Group and Cinemark Holdings (CNK) announced an agreement to acquire the remaining units of National CineMedia, LLC currently owned by AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (AMC). The transaction will be financially accretive to each of Cineworld and Cinemark and represents an on-going confidence in the long-term opportunity associated with the cinema advertising business model. The purchase price for the 21.5M remaining units is approximately $156.8M, representing a price of $7.30 per unit. Cineworld and Cinemark will each acquire half of the units and will fund the transaction with available cash. This transaction fulfills AMC's requirement to sell its interest in NCM under the consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with AMC's acquisition of Carmike Cinemas, Inc. in December 2016.

16:35 EDT Liberty Tax names Michael Piper CFO - Liberty Tax announced that Michael Piper became the company's CFO. Additionally, former CFO of the company Mark Baumgartner will return to the company to serve as an outside strategic advisor and consultant. Piper brings more than 30 years of financial, operational and strategic experience to the role. Most recently, he served as CFO of CDYNE Corporation, a privately held web service solution provider. Before that, Piper served as the company's VP of financial products.

16:33 EDT Oasis Midstream Partners signs multiple 3rd party agreements in Williston Basin - Oasis Midstream Partners has signed multiple third party agreements in the Williston Basin. These agreements span across all three of OMP's development companies. OMP now has enhanced visibility on revenue and EBITDA growth across all product lines, including oil gathering and transportation, natural gas gathering and processing, produced water gathering and disposal and freshwater distribution. Substantially all of the EBITDA growth is underpinned by long term, fixed fee contracts. These third party projects in combination with robust growth at Oasis Petroleum position OMP to extend its runway of peer leading 20% annualized distribution growth.

16:31 EDT Ryder acquires Metro Truck & Tractor Leasing, terms not stated - Ryder System announced it has completed the acquisition of all outstanding equity of Metro Truck & Tractor Leasing. Ryder will now operate Metro's two Maryland facilities in Beltsville and Baltimore, which provide truck leasing, rental, and maintenance services to more than 150 customers with a fleet of approximately 900 units. As part of this acquisition, Ryder purchased mobile maintenance vehicles that will provide maintenance services to customers in and around Baltimore and Washington, D.C. With Ryder Mobile Maintenance, Ryder goes to the customer, wherever they may be, with fully-equipped vehicles that provide customized maintenance to ensure fleet uptime. The acquisition, completed on June 15, 2018, is expected to be slightly accretive to earnings this year. Ryder anticipates additional earnings improvement in future years due to synergies and operational improvements within the combined companies, as well as from growth opportunities with Metro's current customers and prospects in the Maryland market.

16:23 EDT Comstock Holding names Christopher Guthrie new CFO - Comstock Holding Companie announced that it has named Christopher Guthrie as Chief Financial Officer and Principal Financial Officer and Christopher Conover as EVP-Finance and Strategic Planning, effective as of June 12, 2018. Mr. Guthrie has served as Chief Financial Officer of Comstock Partners, LC, since 2013 and brings over 15 years of accounting and finance experience, previously working for Red Zone Capital Management, a private equity fund owned by Dwight Schar and Daniel Snyder. He has also previously served as an audit and transaction services manager at PwC. Mr. Guthrie will succeed Mr. Conover as Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Mr. Conover, 36, has served as our Chief Financial Officer since 2015 and previously served as VP Finance and Corporate Controller at the Company since 2012. In his role as EVP-Finance and Strategic Planning, Mr. Conover will focus on strategic tax planning; corporate strategy; SEC reporting oversight; and investor relations.

16:17 EDT Viveve reports positive 6-month data from stress urinary incontinence study - Viveve Medical reported positive and sustained six-month data from an ongoing single-arm feasibility study using its cryogen-cooled, monopolar radiofrequency technology platform for the treatment of mild-to-moderate stress urinary incontinence in women. The ongoing study is being conducted by Bruce Allan, PhD, MD, FRCS, founder and medical director of the Allan Centre in Calgary, Alberta. "These new data are extremely encouraging for women suffering from stress urinary incontinence, further validating the positive 12-month SUI pilot study data that we reported in February. The objective one-hour pad weight test, used as the primary endpoint in this study, showed that at six months post-treatment women experienced a 73% reduction in stress urinary incontinence on this standardized assessment, which is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration guided endpoint and planned primary endpoint of our two upcoming LIBERATE trials," said Scott Durbin, chief executive officer and director of Viveve. "We look forward to advancing our two clinical registration trials, LIBERATE-International and LIBERATE-U.S., and our effort to position this promising technology for regulatory review and potential approval in markets around the world for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence and drastically improve the quality of life for women with this treatment."

16:15 EDT Osisko Gold Royalties to commit $180M to Falco Resources Horne 5 Project - Falco Resources announced a financing transaction with Osisko Gold Royalties, pursuant to which Osisko has agreed to commit $180M through a silver stream toward the funding of the development of Falco's Horne 5 Project. Concurrent to the announcement of the Silver Stream Transaction, Falco is also announcing that Osisko shall purchase from Falco a secured debenture having a principal amount of $7M. Osisko has agreed to enter into a silver stream purchase agreement, whereby Osisko will provide the company with staged payments totaling $180M. Under the terms of the Stream Agreement, Osisko will purchase 90% of the payable silver from the project, increasing to 100% of the payable silver from the Project in the event the optional fifth deposit is paid. In exchange for the silver delivered under the stream agreement, Osisko will pay the company ongoing payments equal to 20% of the spot price of silver on the day of delivery, subject to a maximum payment of $6.00 per silver ounce. The silver produced from the project and properties within a 5 km area of interest will be subject to the silver stream transaction.Pursuant to the agreement, the company has agreed to pay a $2M capital commitment fee. The fee is payable upon Osisko funding the third deposit under the agreement. Closing of the silver stream transaction is anticipated to occur in September and is subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions, including obtaining regulatory approvals and approval from a majority of the minority shareholders of Falco.

16:11 EDT James H. Dahl implores Pope Resources board to engage with interested acquirers - In a regulatory filing, James H. Dahl disclosed an 11.8% stake in Pope Resources, adding that he wrote a letter to Pope director Maria M. Pope publicly imploring the board of directors and the General Partners of the company to immediately engage with any and all interested acquirers and encouraging other Unit holders to express their views to the board of directors and General Partners of the company for a better outcome for all partners of the company than the status quo.

16:06 EDT Adobe names Dana Rao as new General Counsel - Adobe announced it has appointed Dana Rao as executive vice president and General Counsel, effective immediately. Rao will succeed Mike Dillon, who announced his intent to retire earlier this year. Rao will report to Adobe president and CEO Shantanu Narayen and will oversee all of Adobe's legal and government relations matters. Currently Adobe's vice president and associate general counsel of intellectual property and litigation, Rao has more than 20 years of legal experience. During his six-year tenure at Adobe overseeing Adobe's intellectual property and litigation teams, Rao has managed the company's litigation efforts as well as its patent, trademark and copyright portfolio strategies. Prior to Adobe, Rao was with Microsoft for 11 years, serving in a variety of roles including Associate General Counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing, where he oversaw all patent matters for Microsoft's entertainment and devices division. Rao started his career as a patent attorney at Fenwick & West.

15:11 EDT GameStop trading resumes

15:05 EDT GameStop trading halted, volatility trading pause

14:37 EDT AB InBev, Kiip launch blockchain mobile ad campaign - Kiip and AB Inbev announced that they have successfully launched the first-ever blockchain mobile ad campaign. The campaign is built around Kiip's moments-targeting technology, which is being leveraged by AB InBev to break free of traditional interruptive advertising techniques to better connect with consumers in "engaging, meaningful ways." "We're building a company to last for the next 100 plus years and that can only be done by disrupting existing paradigms through innovation and putting consumers at the heart of everything we do," said Lucas Herscovici, AB InBev's Global Marketing Vice President of Consumer Connections, Insights and Innovation. "As the world's largest brewer and brand builders, we take our responsibility for the stewardship of the category seriously through our approach to advertising and the ways we create meaningful experiences for consumers with our brand content. This campaign will increase transparency in programmatic ad buying and support the ways our brands earn consumers attention."

14:09 EDT Mylan announces launch of Angiomax generic - Mylan (MYL) announced the U.S. launch of Bivalirudin for Injection, 250 mg single-dose vial, a generic version of Angiomax from The Medicines Company (MDCO). The product is a direct thrombin inhibitor indicated for use as an anticoagulant in patients. Mylan is offering Bivalirudin for Injection, 250 mg single-dose vial, to its hospital and institutional customers after an Abbreviated New Drug Application for the product was approved by the FDA. Bivalirudin for Injection, 250 mg single-dose vial, had U.S. sales of approximately $106M for the 12 months ending March 31, 2018, according to IQVIA.

13:18 EDT CFTC orders JPMorgan to pay $65M for benchmark manipulation - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued an order filing and settling charges against JPMorgan Chase Bank for attempted manipulation of the ISDAFIX benchmark and requiring the company to pay a $65M civil monetary penalty. The CFTC Order finds that over a five-year period, beginning in at least January 2007 and continuing through January 2012, JPMorgan "made false reports and attempted to manipulate" the U.S. Dollar International Swaps and Derivatives Association Fix, a global benchmark referenced in interest rate products, to benefit its derivatives positions, including positions involving cash-settled options on interest rate swaps. Reference Link

13:08 EDT Forest City Enterprises Inc trading resumes

13:02 EDT Vertex opens expanded research site in San Diego - Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced the opening of its new 170,000 square foot research facility in Torrey Pines, San Diego. The new site represents a significant expansion of the company's research presence in the area, and its continued investment in the local economy. The San Diego site is one of Vertex's three global research hubs, and is where the Company's three breakthrough cystic fibrosis medicines were discovered. More than 70% of the new facility is dedicated to state-of-the-art lab and research space. It features a 1,500 square foot learning lab for science, technology, engineering, arts and math education programs, expanding on the company's commitment to inspire and equip the next generation of leaders in science; and a 4,000 square foot incubator suite for external collaboration. The new building, located at 3215 Merryfield Row, is LEED Gold certified and is surrounded by two acres of dedicated outdoor space. Construction of the new building was completed on schedule, in less than 18 months, and was overseen by Alexandria Real Estate. Vertex has committed to a 16-year lease to fully occupy the site.

13:01 EDT Insys Therapeutics provides update on ongoing transformation - INSYS Therapeutics reiterated its ongoing efforts to fundamentally transform the company: President and CEO Saeed Motahari joined INSYS in April 2017. Since then: Two-thirds of the members of the Board of Directors are new, and all are independent except for one member of management, the company's CEO; The vast majority of management across the entire organization, including sales and marketing, are new to the company; More than 40% of the employee base of approximately 330 people are new to the company; and Nearly 50% of the company's field force are new to the company. INSYS says: "Initial clinical trials of these two product candidates -- naloxone nasal spray for opioid overdose and epinephrine nasal spray for anaphylaxis -- showed promising results, thereby providing hope for our company to file NDAs for these two life-saving potential products in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Filing these two NDAs would support our company's aspirational goal of filing at least one NDA per year over the next five years. Our company continues to put behind it the significant challenges caused by the inappropriate actions of certain former employees, most of which is over four or more years ago. It is our hope that our actions can help us continue regaining the trust of the healthcare community as we focus on the matters we can control."

12:46 EDT Leviticus Partners reports 5.37% passive stake in Luna Innovations

12:26 EDT American Water investing over $14M to replace, install 48k feet of water main - linois American Water's Peoria District is investing over $14 million to improve its water service distribution system. The investment includes replacing and installing over nine miles of water main across the Peoria District. According to Roger Goodson, senior manager of field operations and production, Illinois American Water's water main replacement program focuses on replacing mains where leaks occur, corrosion has caused damage or the size of the pipe isn't sufficient. He said, "These projects will help ensure adequate water pressure and flow to homes and businesses for service and fire protection. The work will also help to reduce main breaks and related traffic and service impact." Customers affected by the work will be notified via letter about the impact and any necessary steps. The letter will include a local contact for questions. Motorists should use caution when driving in the construction areas and obey traffic signs, detour routes and flaggers.

12:13 EDT WHO adds 'Gaming Disorder' to ICD - The World Health Organization released its new International Classification of Diseases, in which the organization classifies "Gaming Disorder" as a disorder due to addictive behaviors. According to the WHO, Gaming disorder is characterized by a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behaviour, namely digital gaming or'video-gaming, which may be online or offline, manifested by: impaired control over gaming; increasing priority given to gaming to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other life interests and daily activities; and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences. The behaviour pattern is of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning, WHO said. "The pattern of gaming behaviour may be continuous or episodic and recurrent," according to the new ICD. "The gaming behaviour and other features are normally evident over a period of at least 12 months in order for a diagnosis to be assigned, although the required duration may be shortened if all diagnostic requirements are met and symptoms are severe." Publicly traded companies in the space include Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Electronic Arts (EA), GameStop (GME), Take-Two (TTWO), Microsoft (MSFT), Nintendo (NTDOY), Zynga (ZNGA), Sony (SNE), Ubisoft (UBSFY), and Tencent (TCEHY). Reference Link

12:04 EDT TG Therapeutics reports updated results from ongoing ublituximab Phase 2 study - TG Therapeutics announced updated results from the Phase 2 multicenter trial of ublituximab, the company's novel glycoengineered anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, in relapsing forms of Multiple Sclerosis. The data is being presented today at the 4th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology in Lisbon, Portugal. CEO Michael Weiss said, "We are extremely pleased to see that the preliminary Week 48 data presented today from this Phase 2 trial supports the Week 24 data presented earlier this year at the AAN meeting. While only an early look at the Week 48 timepoint, the data continue to be impressive and suggestive of a highly efficacious anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody with a manageable safety profile that can be administered in a convenient one-hour infusion. We look forward to presenting the final results from this Phase 2 trial including Week 48 data on up to 48 patients at a major medical meeting later this year."

12:03 EDT XL Catlin, Bamboo Insurance enter underwriting agreement in California - XL Catlin and new insuretech-focused program administrator, Bamboo Insurance has entered into an underwriting agreement to provide property insurance in California. Commenting on the Bamboo partnership, John Welch, Chief Executive, Reinsurance North America, said "XL Catlin has a long history of identifying high quality specialized program administrators that address market needs and benefit from our underwriting expertise and strong capital position. We are very excited about adding the Bamboo team to this list."

12:00 EDT Transcontinental Realty Inc falls -11.1% - Transcontinental Realty Inc is down -11.1%, or -$4.23 to $33.77.

12:00 EDT Geron lower after updated Phase 2 imetelstat efficacy data - Geron Corporation (GERN) earlier this morning announced the oral presentation of updated data from the ongoing original Part 1 of IMerge, the Phase 2/3 trial of imetelstat in lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes. The data was presented at the Congress of the European Hematology Association held in Stockholm, Sweden on June 17. Imetelstat is a telomerase inhibitor initially developed by Geron and exclusively licensed to Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) Janssen Biotech on a worldwide basis. "This encore presentation of data from the first 32 patients in Part 1 of IMerge reiterates the encouraging results that prompted the expansion of enrollment of Part 1 to a refined population of lower risk MDS patients who are naive to lenalidomide and HMAs and who lacked del(5q). We are pleased that there are multiple patients that have been on treatment for over two years," said John Scarlett, Geron's CEO. "We look forward to data from the additional patients enrolled earlier this year in the expanded Part 1 of IMerge, as well as Janssen's decision related to the continued development of imetelstat, which is expected by the end of the third quarter." Th oral presentation described data as of May from the first 32 patients enrolled in Part 1 of IMerge with a median follow-up of 95 weeks. 34%of patients achieved greater than or equal to eight-week transfusion-independence with a median duration of 23.1 weeks. The mean relative reduction in transfusion burden from baseline was 60%. Shares of Geron are down 7%, or 29c, to $4.00 following the data. The new data weaken Geron's case of convincing J&J to continue with the partnership, STAT's Adam Feurenstein wrote.

12:00 EDT Avalara rises 9.9% - Avalara is up 9.9%, or $4.43 to $49.38.

11:56 EDT PTC says intends to enter into accelerated share repurchase agreement - In a regulatory filing, PTC (PTC) said that "In connection with our previously announced stock repurchase program, and subject to completion of the contemplated $1B investment by Rockwell Automation (ROK), pursuant to that certain Securities Purchase Agreement dated as of June 11, 2018 by and between PTC and Rockwell Automation, PTC intends to enter into an accelerated share repurchase agreement with an investment bank to repurchase all or a significant portion of the additional $1B of stock repurchases authorized to be undertaken after the closing of the contemplated Rockwell Automation investment. The company's stock repurchase program does not obligate the company to repurchase any shares and may be terminated, increased or decreased by the Board in its discretion at any time."

11:19 EDT Icici Bank trading resumes

11:02 EDT Guess enters partnership with I:CO - Guess entered a partnership with I:CO, short for I:Collect, a global solutions provider and innovator for the collection, certified sorting, reuse and recycling of used apparel and footwear, to launch a wardrobe recycling program. The program, RESOURCED, launches in California on June 18, 2018, expanding to all North America by the end of 2018 and globally by 2020. GUESS has partnered with I:CO to reduce textile waste and help create a circular fashion system where unwanted clothing and shoes can be reprocessed and used over and over again in a continuous closed loop production cycle. Through I:CO's innovative retail take-back system and worldwide infrastructure, wearable items get a new life as secondhand goods. Unwearable items are resourced into new products like cleaning cloths or recycled into fibers for products such as insulation and new textiles. Reusing and recycling saves resources and allows valuable raw materials to be reprocessed, ultimately helping to protect our environment.

11:00 EDT Wellington Trust Company reports 5.07% passive stake in Shiloh Industries

10:50 EDT Snap CEO says focused on growth from Android product - Spiegel said getting Android right is "critical" for Snap. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel is being interviewed on CNBC.

10:47 EDT Icici Bank trading halted, news pending

10:09 EDT TransCanada announces export capacity expansion on NGTL system - TransCanada announced that it will move forward with a proposed $140M expansion of its NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. System following the successful completion in March of an expansion capacity open season for incremental firm export delivery service at the Empress/McNeill Export Delivery Point. Shippers have executed binding agreements for 280 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of incremental firm delivery service that will commence November 2021. The average term of the contracts awarded for the expansion capacity is 22 years. NGTL also concurrently executed incremental intra-basin firm delivery service contracts with other shippers for an aggregate volume of 75 MMcf/d that contribute to the need for the new facilities. This new investment is a component of NGTL's $7.3B multi-year infrastructure expansion program that will increase transportation capacity for Western Canada producers and provide downstream markets increased access to clean-burning natural gas.

10:00 EDT Lannett falls -7.2% - Lannett is down -7.2%, or -$1.15 to $14.75.

10:00 EDT DHT Holdings rises 6.6% - DHT Holdings is up 6.6%, or 27c to $4.35.

10:00 EDT Inspire Medical rises 8.5% - Inspire Medical is up 8.5%, or $3.11 to $39.57.

09:31 EDT Amazon plans to add over 1,000 new jobs in Ireland over two years - Amazon announced that it is creating more than 1,000 permanent new jobs in Ireland over the next two years. In addition to central Dublin, where Amazon opened a new 170,000 square foot building today, these highly skilled roles will be based in Amazon locations in North County Dublin, Blanchardstown, and Tallaght. Creating 1,000 new jobs doubles the growth target committed to by Amazon in 2016, when the company pledged to hire 500 people in two years -- and did so nine months ahead of schedule. The new roles currently include Software Development Engineers, Network Development Engineers, Data Centre Engineers, Support Engineers, Solutions Architects, Systems Engineers, Optical Deployment Engineers, Security Specialists, Big Data Specialists, DevOps Engineers, and a range of technical management positions for both Amazon and Amazon Web Services. The new jobs reflect Amazon's growing investments in the country as a centre of excellence for software engineering, research, and customer services.

09:17 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: PTC Therapeutics (PTCT), up 36% after the company reported data for oral SMA drug RG7916 at CureSMA that RBC Capital analyst Brian Abrahams called "impressive" and prompted him to upgrade the stock to Outperform. William Blair analyst Raju Prasad also upgraded PTC Therapeutics to Outperform, saying risdiplam showed "impressive efficacy" in spinal muscular atrophy... Rent-A-Center (RCII), up 22% after the company announced it has agreed to be acquired by Vintage Capital for $15 per share in cash... FleetCor (FLT), up 5% after the stock was selected to replace Time Warner (TWX) in the S&P 500 at open on June 20... JD.com (JD), up 5% after announcing Google (GOOG, GOOGL) will invest $550M in cash in JD as part of a strategic partnership. LOWER: Catalyst Biosciences (CBIO), down 52% after providing an update on the ongoing Phase 1/2 trial investigating its next generation Factor IX candidate CB 2679d/ISU304 for the treatment of severe hemophilia B... Ziopharm (ZIOP), down 7% after reporting that the FDA placed a clinical hold on its trial of CD19-targeted CAR T therapy... Zillow Group (ZG), down 3.5% after Goldman Sachs analyst Heath Terry downgraded the stock to Neutral... Biogen (BIIB), down 3%, and partner Ionis (IONS) down nearly 8% after PTC's spinal muscular atrophy data.

09:13 EDT Biogen down 3% to $296 after PTC's spinal muscular atrophy data

09:10 EDT Connecticut Water provides update on go-shop process - Connecticut Water Service (CTWS) announced that the deadline to submit non-binding indicative proposals under the Company's previously announced "go-shop" process has expired and that no proposals or indications of interest were received. As previously announced, the terms of the Connecticut Water and SJW Group (SJW) merger agreement were amended to include a new go-shop provision, which allowed Connecticut Water to actively solicit proposals for an alternative merger, acquisition or other strategic transaction involving the Company. As part of this two-phase, 45-day go-shop process: Connecticut Water's financial advisors directly contacted more than 50 parties, including more than 20 water and regulated utilities and more than 30 financial sponsors, to determine their interest in exploring a potential transaction with Connecticut Water. Parties were encouraged to review Connecticut Water's publicly-available information, including all regulatory and SEC filings made in connection with the SJW Group merger. Of the parties contacted, half sought and received additional details regarding the Company. All parties were informed that June 13, 2018 was the deadline for submitting preliminary, non-binding indications of interest, after which selected parties would be provided additional information and access to management before the July 14, 2018 deadline for submitting final proposals. As of June 17, 2018, no proposals or indications of interest have been received. The Company noted that Eversource Energy (ES) was among those contacted and invited to participate in the go-shop process; however, Eversource did not participate in the process and did not submit a proposal for consideration. Given the absence of any alternative proposal submitted during the go-shop process, the Connecticut Water Board of Directors has unanimously determined to conclude the go-shop process and has unanimously reaffirmed its support for the SJW Group merger, which it believes is in the best interests of all Connecticut Water shareholders as well as the employees, customers and communities Connecticut Water serves.

09:07 EDT Hortonworks, Google Cloud expand partnership - Hortonworks (HDP) announced enhancements to its existing partnership with Google Cloud (GOOG, GOOGL). These enhancements further optimize Hortonworks Data Platform and Hortonworks DataFlow for Google Cloud Platform to deliver next-gen big data analytics for hybrid cloud deployments. This partnership will enable customers to achieve faster business insights by leveraging ongoing innovations from the open source community via HDP and HDF on GCP.

09:05 EDT Pope Resources announces $3.73M conservation sale - Pope Resources announced a $3.73M conservation sale to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, consisting of a conservation easement covering 7,800 acres in Skamania County, Washington. The transaction was facilitated by the Columbia Land Trust. The land is retained in Pope Resources' ownership, subject to the easement that precludes development but allows continuing timberland operations.

09:05 EDT Mannatech announces prelimnary results of tender offer - Mannatech, Incorporated announced the preliminary results of its modified Dutch auction tender offer, which expired at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, at the end of Friday, June 15, 2018, to purchase up to an aggregate of $16M in value of its outstanding common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, at a per share price not greater than $21.00 nor less than $18.50 per share. Based on the preliminary count by Computershare Trust Company, N.A., the Depositary for the tender offer, a total of 316,608 common shares of the company were properly tendered and not properly withdrawn at or below the price of $21.00 per share. In accordance with the terms and conditions of the tender offer and based on a preliminary count by the Depositary, the company expects to accept for payment a total of approximately 316,608 common shares of the Company at a cash purchase price of $21.00 per share, for a total cash cost of approximately $6.6M, excluding fees and expenses relating to the tender offer. These common shares represent approximately 11.6% of the company's total outstanding shares as of April 30, 2018. The company anticipates to fund the share purchase in the tender offer from cash on hand.

09:04 EDT SolarEdge files patent infringement lawsuit against Huawei, Wattkraft Solar - SolarEdge Technologies announced that it has filed a lawsuit for patent infringement against Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., a Chinese entity, Huawei Technologies Dusseldorf GmbH, a German entity, and WATTKRAFT Solar GmbH, a German distributor for Huawei. The lawsuit, filed in the Regional Court of Mannheim in Germany, one of the most pre-eminent German patent courts, asserts unauthorized use of patented technology, which is prohibited by law, and is intended to protect SolarEdge's significant investment in its innovative DC optimized inverter technology. Seeking monetary damages, an injunction, and recall of infringing Huawei inverters from the German market, the lawsuit is intended to prevent the defendants from selling any multi-level inverters infringing upon SolarEdge's PV inverter technology protected in the asserted patent in Germany.

09:03 EDT Gevo sees benefits from approval of isobutanol in 16% blends of gasoline - On June 12, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency announced the approval of isobutanol at a 16% blend level in gasoline for on-road use in automobiles. Previous to this isobutanol had been approved for on-road use up to a 12.5% blend. Patrick Gruber, Gevo cEO, said "Blends of isobutanol at a 16% level have previously been used for boats and off-road applications. We congratulate Butamax in getting this registration done. We all benefit. 16% blend levels allow more RINS per gallon, high octane, and many other benefits. At Gevo we have been developing the markets for isobutanol containing gasoline, in particular to meet the demand for the "ethanol free" segment of the gasoline market. A 16% blend option will give our customers and partners an option for an even better product for on-road use."

09:01 EDT Goodyear Tire CFO Laura Thompson to retire in 1Q19 - The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced that Laura Thompson, executive vice president and CFO has informed the company of her intention to retire in the first quarter of 2019 after 35 years of dedicated and distinguished service. The company has commenced a search for Thompson's successor.

09:01 EDT Graco names Mark Sheahan CFO & treasurer, Christian Rothe president of AFTD - The Board of Directors of Graco has named Mark W. Sheahan CFO and Christian E. Rothe President of its Worldwide Applied Fluid Technologies Division, part of its Industrial reporting segment, effective today.

08:58 EDT American Midstream Partners to sell marine products terminalling business - American Midstream Partners (AMID) announced it has entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of its marine products terminalling business to institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPM), for approximately $210M in cash, subject to working capital adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018. The divestiture of the Marine Products Terminals, including the Harvey and Westwego terminals located in the Port of New Orleans and the Brunswick terminal located in the Port of Brunswick in Georgia, is a continuation of the Partnership's previously announced non-core asset divestiture program. The divestiture of the Marine Products Terminals further simplifies AMID's business profile, providing the foundation to further scale the Partnership's core strategic assets. The transaction demonstrates the Partnership's continued ability to execute on its strategy of generating internal capital from high value non-core assets. The immediate use of these proceeds will go toward reducing indebtedness under the Partnership's revolving credit facility, as well as general corporate purposes. Further debt reduction will provide the Partnership with a more flexible capital structure, which will enable the Partnership to further enhance liquidity as it continues to execute on strategic growth initiatives. Closing of the sale of the Marine Products Terminals is subject to customary closing conditions, including clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.

08:47 EDT Xerox names Mary McHugh as Chief Delivery Officer - Xerox (XRX) announced the appointment of Mary McHugh as chief delivery officer and a member of the company's Executive Committee, effective immediately. McHugh will be responsible for the global delivery of Xerox products, services, consumables and supplies. This includes the worldwide strategy and operation of our manufacturing sites, supply chain, customer service operations and delivery centers. McHugh joins Xerox following five years at Oracle (ORCL), most recently serving as the senior vice president of SaaS Implementation Success management and SaaS Consulting for North America.

08:43 EDT China Biologic holders CCRE, CITIC offer to buy company for $110 per share - In a regulatory filing earlier, it was disclosed that CCRE Holdings and CITIC Capital submitted a preliminary, non-binding letter to the board of directors of China Biologic, outlining a proposal to acquire all of the outstanding share capital of the company not already owned by CCRE and its affiliates for $110 in cash per ordinary share. The proposal also provides that, among other things, CITIC will need to conduct due diligence on the company and CITIC will negotiate with the company to agree on, and enter into, definitive agreements with respect to the transaction. In the proposal letter, CCRE also expressed its willingness to welcome members of the management of the company and other shareholders of the company in joining CITIC to participate in the transaction, and "at the very least, it hopes that the existing key members of management can continue to lead," the filing stated.

08:35 EDT Energy XXI Gulf Coast Inc trading resumes

08:32 EDT Champions Oncology, Puma Biotechnology partner on PDX trials - Champions Oncology (CSBR) announced that they have partnered with NSABP Foundation and Puma Biotechnology (PBYI) to develop patient derived xenograft models in two multi-center co-clinical PDX trials. The first trial, NSABP FB10 is a phase II study evaluating the combination of trastuzumab emtansine with neratinib in women with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer (NCT02236000) and is currently enrolling patients. All patients in this study will have had prior trastuzumab, pertuzumab and taxane. The second trial, NSABP FC11 is a phase II study evaluating the combination of neratinib plus trastuzumab or neratinib plus cetuximab in patients with "quadruple wild-type" metastatic colorectal cancer based on HER2 status: amplified, non-amplified (wild-type) or mutated (NCT03457896). The first patient is expected in June 2018. NSABP Foundation initiated a "live tissue repository" which has accrued 3000 tissue samples. Molecular profiling of these samples will locate potential eligible patients already at NSABP sites, in addition to patients identified with molecular profiling performed at a CLIA lab, who meet eligibility criteria. The PDX models developed from patients enrolling on these studies will make it possible to test individual drugs and novel combinations as well as investigate mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance.

08:31 EDT Immersion enters into license agreement with Calsonic Kansei - Immersion announced that it has signed a license agreement with Calsonic Kansei, providing Calsonic Kansei with access to Immersion's patented haptic technology for use in Calsonic Kansei's automotive solutions. Calsonic Kansei is a supplier of automotive components, including cockpit systems, thermal systems, exhaust systems and advanced electronic products. Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance is the primary customer for Calsonic Kansei, which also supplies a variety of other automotive groups including Isuzu, Mazda, VAG and General Motors.

08:30 EDT Rent A Center trading resumes

08:25 EDT Alibaba opens office in Malaysia - Alibaba Group opened its national office in Malaysia, marking a new chapter in the company's deepening strategic cooperation with Malaysia, which is the first eWTP hub outside of China. In November last year, Alibaba successfully launched its first international eHub in Malaysia under the eWTP initiative, with an emphasis on facilitating exports for Malaysian SMEs and creating the infrastructure to support global trade with services encompassing e-commerce, logistics, cloud computing, mobile payment and talent training.

08:07 EDT Hudson awarded three-year contract extension at BWI Marshall Airport - Hudson Group announced the successful three-year extension of its retail operations at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The contract extension awarded by Fraport Maryland includes over 15,900 square feet in retail space, and includes the conversion of two Hudson News locations to Hudson store concepts.

08:06 EDT Biocept: Report demonstrates clinical utility of company's CTC platform - Biocept announces the publication of a peer-reviewed case report demonstrating the clinical utility of its Target Selector circulating tumor cell testing in the management of a patient with metastatic breast cancer. Biocept's CTC-based assay detected estrogen receptor expression and HER2 gene amplification, which enabled the patient to qualify for anti-HER2 therapy that extended her survival and improved her quality of life. Several prior attempts to gain this molecular information from tissue using standard image-guided biopsy were unsuccessful. In particular, for this patient with bone-only metastases, decalcification of bone tumor tissue presented challenges to immunohistochemical staining, which can be common and may lead to inconclusive or false negative ER, PR, or HER2 results

08:05 EDT Evolus names Michael Mazen chief marketing officer - Evolus (EOLS) announced the expansion of its management team with the appointment of Michael Mazen Jafar as chief marketing officer. Jafar joins Evolus from Allergan (AGN) where he most recently served as VP, medical aesthetics.

08:04 EDT Park City says RposiTrak MarketPlace reaches $1M quarterly revenue run rate - Park City Group announces that MarketPlace, ReposiTrak's unique vendor sourcing platform, is on track to generate close to $1M in revenue for the quarter ending June 30, 2018.

08:03 EDT Energy XXI Gulf Coast Inc trading halted, news pending

08:02 EDT Valeant's Ortho receives Complete Response Letter from FDA for DUOBRII lotion - Ortho Dermatologics, a division of Valeant Pharmaceuticals, announced that it has received a Complete Response Letter from the U.S. FDA regarding the company's New Drug Application for DUOBRII lotion in the treatment of plaque psoriasis. "The CRL did not specify any deficiencies related to the clinical efficacy or safety of DUOBRII and no issues with CMC* processes. The CRL only noted questions regarding pharmacokinetic data," said Joseph C. Papa, chairman and CEO, Valeant. "We are working to resolve this matter expeditiously and have already requested a meeting with the FDA. We hope to bring forward this important new treatment option for those who suffer from plaque psoriasis as quickly as possible."

08:02 EDT AG Mortgage increases quarterly dividend 5.3% to 50c per share - AG Mortgage Investment Trust announced that its Board of Directors has declared a dividend of 50c per common share for the second quarter of 2018, representing a 5.3% increase over the prior quarter dividend of 47.5c per common share. The dividend is payable on July 31, 2018 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 29, 2018, with an ex-dividend date of June 28, 2018.

08:00 EDT Rent-A-Center to be acquired by Vintage Capital for $15 per share in cash

07:56 EDT Biogen drops 2% to $298.20 after PTC's spinal muscular atrophy data

07:37 EDT Ziopharm says FDA placed clinical hold on trial of CD19-targeted CAR T therapy - Ziopharm Oncology (ZIOP) announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration placed on clinical hold a Phase 1 trial to evaluate CD19-specific CAR-T therapies manufactured under point-of-care and requested additional information in support of the investigational new drug application for the trial. Ziopharm, Precigen, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intrexon Corporation (XON), and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the IND sponsor, are seeking to conduct a clinical trial to evaluate CAR+ T cells manufactured with Sleeping Beauty technology as an investigational treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory, CD19+ leukemias and lymphomas. CAR+ T cells very-rapidly manufactured with the Sleeping Beauty platform for this third-generation trial are designed to co-express CD19-specific chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR, membrane-bound interleukin 15 and a safety switch. The FDA has requested additional information relative to Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls. Ziopharm and its partners will address the FDA's requests, and the initiation of this trial may be delayed. Ziopharm believes this feedback from the FDA does not affect timelines for the Company's planned trial at the National Cancer Institute using the Sleeping Beauty platform to target solid tumors infusing TCR-modified T cells. The second-generation clinical trial evaluating Sleeping Beauty-manufactured CD19-specific CAR-T cells continues enrolling and infusing patients at MD Anderson.

07:34 EDT TG Therapeutics presents Phase 2 data evaluating umbralisib in CLL patients - TG Therapeutics announced an oral presentation of clinical data from its ongoing Phase 2 study evaluating umbralisib, the company's PI3K delta inhibitor, in patients with relapsed or refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia who are intolerant to prior BTK or PI3K delta inhibitor therapy. Data from this trial were presented over the weekend during an oral session at the 23rd Congress of the European Hematology Association. This presentation includes data from patients with CLL who are intolerant to prior BTK or PI3K delta inhibitor therapy who were then treated with single agent umbralisib. To be eligible for the study patients had to have received prior treatment with a BTK inhibitor or a PI3K delta inhibitor and discontinued therapy due to intolerance within 12 months of starting treatment on this study. Forty-seven patients were evaluable for safety of which 46 were evaluable for Progression Free Survival. Highlights from this presentation include: Umbralisib demonstrated a favorable safety profile in patients intolerant to prior BTK or PI3K therapy. Only 13% discontinued due to an adverse event, of which only one patient discontinued due to a recurrent adverse event also experienced with prior kinase inhibitor therapy. Median progression free survival and overall survival has not been reached with a median follow-up of 9.5 months. In this relapsed/refractory CLL population, of which 77% required treatment within 6 months of prior KI discontinuation, 64% had a high-risk molecular/genetic marker and 6% had an ibrutinib resistance mutation, significant clinical activity has been observed.

07:32 EDT Eloxx Pharmaceuticals appoints Neil Belloff as General Counsel - Eloxx Pharmaceuticals announced that it has appointed Neil Belloff, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Eloxx. Belloff joins Eloxx from Celgene Corporation where he served as Senior Corporate Counsel since 2011. Belloff has more than 30 years of legal and business experience, with significant management and project development responsibilities in business critical areas including risk assessment, strategic planning, regulatory compliance, mergers and acquisitions, capital formation, privacy, pharmaceutical development, and securities matters, and is a corporate governance and compliance expert.

07:31 EDT Porter Bancorp changes name to Limestone Bancorp - Porter Bancorp (PBIB), parent company of Limestone Bank, announced that it has changed its name to Limestone Bancorp, Inc. The company's common stock will begin trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol LMST on June 19. Shareholders approved the corporate name change at the company's annual meeting on May 23.

07:15 EDT Myriad Genetics BRACAnalysis CDx sPMA accepted by FDA for review - Myriad Genetics (MYGN) announced that the FDA has accepted its supplementary premarket approval, or sPMA, application for BRACAnalysis CDx to be used as a companion diagnostic with Pfizer's (PFE) PARPinhibitor, talazoparib. The New Drug Application, or NDA, for talazoparib has been granted priority review by the FDA and has a Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date of December 2018. Myriad's sPMA and Pfizer's NDA submissions are based on results from the Pfizer-sponsored EMBRACA trial, which evaluated talazoparib versus chemotherapy in patients with germline BRCA-mutated, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. The primary results of the study were presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December 2017.

07:14 EDT Helius Medical expects to submit request for FDA clearance of PoNS Device in Q3 - Helius Medical Technologies updated the expected timing for the company's submission of a request for U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance of the Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator investigational medical device. "As part of the submission process for de novo classification and 510(k) clearance, FDA encourages companies to engage in pre-submission meetings to obtain the Agency's perspective and feedback," stated CMO Jonathan Sackier. "The breakthrough nature of our PoNS technology heightens the company's desire to work closely with FDA in advance of our submission. We have thus proactively engaged in FDA's Pre-Submission Program to reduce the likelihood of questions from FDA during their review of the PoNS 510(k) submission. We met with FDA in a pre-submission meeting held in April, which focused on the design verification testing used to support our submission. We believe this meeting was very productive and we adjusted this element of our submission to incorporate feedback from FDA. We are scheduled to meet with FDA again in July and expect this meeting to be equally productive. Given the timing of this pre-submission meeting, we now expect to submit our request for de novo classification and 510(k) clearance in the third quarter of 2018."

07:11 EDT Magna to form two joint ventures with Beijing Electric Vehicle Co. - Magna announced its intention to form two new joint ventures with Beijing Electric Vehicle Co. for complete vehicle manufacturing as well as engineering of electric vehicles. Over the coming months, Magna and BJEV will work with authorities to implement legally binding joint-venture agreements which will govern the operations of these two joint ventures. The engineering and manufacturing joint ventures are expected to take over an existing BAIC manufacturing facility in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, where the first production vehicles are planned for 2020. The plant has the capacity to build up to 180,000 vehicles per year. The joint ventures will also be set up to offer engineering and complete vehicle manufacturing capacity to other potential customers. In April 2018, BAIC Group and Magna announced they will jointly develop a next generation smart electric vehicle architecture for the Chinese market. It is expected that this vehicle architecture will be transferred to the engineering joint venture and will form the platform of the new electric vehicles to be launched in the joint venture. China is currently the world's leading market for electric mobility. By 2020, the number of all-electric cars on China's roads is forecasted to reach around five million. Both joint ventures are subject to a number of conditions including agreement on final joint venture agreements and obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals.

07:09 EDT Ceva: Artosyn Microelectronics licenses CEVA-XM4 intelligent vision platform - CEVA announced that Artosyn Microelectronics, a leading supplier of drone and robots system-on-chip in China has licensed and deployed the CEVA-XM4 intelligent vision platform to power the computer vision and deep learning workloads of its upcoming AR9X01 artificial intelligence SoC.

07:08 EDT Rhythm Pharmaceuticals plans to initiate Phase 3 trial evaluating Setmelanotide - Following recent discussions with the FDA, Rhythm plans to initiate a combined pivotal Phase 3 trial evaluating setmelanotide in patients with BBS and Alstrom Syndrome. Rhythm expects this open-label, single-arm, multinational trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of setmelanotide in at least 20 BBS patients and at least six Alstrom Syndrome patients, aged six years and older, with setmelanotide administered once daily by subcutaneous injection for approximately 12 months. The trial will begin with an initial period of dose titration, using a simplified titration scheme. The trial may also include a 12-week, randomized, placebo-controlled period, after which all patients will complete an additional period of active setmelanotide treatment to complete the one-year trial. Rhythm is continuing discussions with the FDA to finalize the trial design, protocol and endpoints, and expects to initiate the trial and enroll the first patients by the end of 2018. Rhythm intends to continue enrolling patients with POMC and other MC4 pathway heterozygous deficiency obesities, as well as POMC epigenetic disorders, in its ongoing Phase 2 basket studies, in order to identify those patients most likely to benefit from setmelanotide treatment. The Company expects to announce updated data from a larger number of patients with POMC and other MC4 pathway heterozygous deficiency obesities, as well as POMC epigenetic disorders in the first quarter of 2019.

07:07 EDT Rhythm announces new topline clinical data from studies evaluating Setmelanotide - Rhythm Pharmaceuticals announced new topline clinical data from its ongoing Phase 2 basket studies of setmelanotide, a first-in-class melanocortin-4 receptor agonist, including updated data in patients with Bardet-Biedl Syndrome, initial proof-of-concept data in Alstrom Syndrome, and promising, preliminary data in pro-opiomelanocortin and other MC4 pathway heterozygous deficiency obesities, as well as in POMC epigenetic disorders. Across all these rare genetic disorders of obesity, setmelanotide was observed to be well-tolerated.In October 2017, Rhythm announced proof-of-concept in BBS from five patients, on the basis of setmelanotide treatment lasting between 12-26 weeks. Since then, all four patients who were categorized as weight loss responders in the initial readout continue to lose weight, and after treatment duration of 46-60 weeks, patients achieved an average weight loss of 18.5% and an average hunger score decrease of 74.2%. As previously reported, the fifth patient, a pediatric patient with Type 1 diabetes, experienced a 53.3% decrease in hunger score, and an improvement in average blood sugar level from 10.1% to 7.6%. This patient did not experience any body weight change, though her weight curve indicated a slowing of prior childhood weight gain. An additional four patients with BBS were enrolled in the Phase 2 studies, all of whom have been on treatment for a short duration. Three of these patients remain on therapy. Two are already showing a promising response; the third patient is too early to determine. The fourth patient did not show improvements in either weight or hunger and was discontinued. Rhythm plans to present detailed results from its BBS Phase 2 studies at a major medical meeting later this year. The first patient experienced weight loss of 23.2% and a 45.5% decrease in hunger score after 38 weeks of treatment with setmelanotide. As this patient's weight began approaching ideal body weight levels, a subsequent dose reduction was implemented, and this patient's weight stabilized. An additional three patients with Alstrom Syndrome were enrolled in the studies, all of whom have been on treatment for a short duration. Two of these patients remain on therapy; one is already showing a promising response, the other is too early to determine. The third patient did not show improvements in either weight or hunger and was discontinued. Rhythm plans to present detailed results from its Alstrom Syndrome Phase 2 studies at a major medical meeting later this year. Two patients responded to treatment with setmelanotide. The first patient experienced weight loss of 15.4% and a hunger score decrease of 80% and the second patient experienced weight loss of 6.5% and a hunger score decrease of 20%. Three additional patients with POMC and other MC4 pathway heterozygous deficiency obesities have been enrolled in the studies. One patient did not show improvements in either weight or hunger and was discontinued due to lack of efficacy, and two patients discontinued early due to tolerability issues related to muscle cramps or tanning, respectively.The first patient with POMC epigenetic disorder obesity experienced a hunger score decrease of 60% during the titration phase, and began to lose weight. Over a four-week vacation during which she withdrew from treatment, the patient's hunger score returned to baseline, but her weight remained stable. After resuming treatment, this patient's hunger score again decreased and, over the course of the trial, she has experienced total weight loss of 9.2%. One additional POMC epigenetic patient has been enrolled in the studies and has been on treatment for a very short duration. This patient remains on therapy. Consistent with prior clinical experience, treatment with setmelanotide was observed to be well-tolerated. The majority of adverse events reported by investigators were mild, primarily injection site reactions and increased skin pigmentation.

07:06 EDT BioLineRx presents new OS data from Phase 2a study for BL-8040 in r/r AML - BioLineRx announced that new data presented at the 23rd Annual Congress of the European Hematology Association, held in Stockholm, Sweden, shows that BL-8040, combined with high dose cytarabine, significantly enhanced overall survival in difficult-to-treat relapsed or refractory AML patients in a Phase 2a clinical trial. In addition, an important new finding shows a statistically significant correlation between patient response and the mobilization of AML blasts. Responding patients demonstrated a clear and significant increase in the number of AML blasts in the peripheral blood following BL-8040 treatment, whereas non-responding patients were largely unaffected. "We are extremely pleased to see further significant improvement in overall survival for this very difficult-to-treat patient population, as data continues to accumulate from our Phase 2a proof-of-concept study in relapsed or refractory AML," stated Philip A. Serlin, CEO of BioLineRx. "In addition, exciting new findings indicate a clear correlation between patient response and mobilization of AML blasts, thus identifying a potential biomarker for selecting patients likely to respond to BL-8040. These encouraging results strongly support the continued development of BL-8040 in relapsed or refractory AML, giving BioLineRx broad therapeutic coverage in the AML space, with potential activity at different stages of the disease and in different patient populations. We look forward to providing additional updates on overall survival from this study, and continue to execute on our other two important AML trials currently ongoing - a large, randomized, controlled Phase 2b study in consolidation AML, and a Phase 1b/2 study in maintenance of AML under our collaboration with Genentech," added Serlin.

07:04 EDT Supermajors need to invest nearly $30B in Permian through 2020, IHS Markit says - A new energy report from business information provider IHS Markit says that the three supermajors active in the Permian Basin -- Exxon Mobil (XOM), Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) and Chevron (CVX) -- will need to invest nearly $30B in the oil and gas play through 2020 to achieve growth targets. These investments will catalyze cost inflation and will gradually force consolidation in the basin, the report says. "If truly committed to the Permian Basin, the traditionally return-focused supermajors will have to grow accustomed to a rising cost-basis in order to build their core, operated-acreage positions that currently do not suffice to meet medium- to long-term growth plans," said Sven del Pozzo, CFA, director of energy equity research and analysis at IHS Markit. "IHS Markit estimates that the supermajors will need to collectively invest nearly $30B in new investments-effectively adding three companies the size of Pioneer Resources to the Permian, to achieve their production growth targets by year-end 2020."

07:03 EDT W.P. Carey announces proposed merger with CPA:17 in $6B transaction - W. P. Carey announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Corporate Property Associates 17 - Global Incorporated, a publicly-held non-traded REIT advised by W. P. Carey, will merge with and into a subsidiary of W. P. Carey in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at approximately $6B. The transaction has also been approved by CPA:17's Board of Directors upon the unanimous recommendation of a Special Committee of CPA:17's independent directors. The merger is currently expected to close at or around December 31, 2018, subject to the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in the merger agreement, including the approval of stockholders of each of W. P. Carey and CPA:17. Subject to the terms and conditions of the merger agreement, CPA:17 stockholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 0.160 shares of W. P. Carey common stock for each share of CPA:17, equivalent to $10.72 per share based on W. P. Carey's closing share price of $67.03 as of June 15, 2018. After the close of the transaction, W. P. Carey is expected to have a pro forma equity market capitalization of approximately $11B and an enterprise value of approximately $17 billion, based upon W. P. Carey's closing share price as of June 15, 2018. The transaction is currently expected to close at or around December 31, 2018, although there can be no assurance that the transaction will close at such time, if at all.

07:02 EDT Solid Biosciences: FDA removes clinical hold on SGT-001 - Solid Biosciences announced that the FDA= has lifted the clinical hold on IGNITE DMD, the company's Phase I/II clinical trial for its investigational microdystrophin gene transfer, SGT-001, for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or DMD. In its letter, the FDA acknowledged that the company satisfactorily addressed all clinical hold questions. Solid has begun activities to resume the clinical trial and plans to reinitiate enrollment as quickly as possible. "We believe SGT-001 has the potential to offer significant benefit to patients with DMD, regardless of their age or stage of disease," said Ilan Ganot, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Solid Biosciences. "We are pleased to have been able to provide the FDA with a comprehensive response resulting in the removal of the clinical hold so we can continue development of this important potential treatment." As previously disclosed, the FDA placed a clinical hold on IGNITE DMD following the Company's report of a Serious Adverse Event in the first patient dosed with SGT-001. The event was characterized by a decrease in platelet count followed by a reduction in red blood cell count, transient renal impairment and evidence of complement activation. There were no signs of bleeding or clotting abnormalities and no laboratory evidence of liver dysfunction. The patient received standard medical care, a modified steroid regimen and a limited course of eculizumab for the observed complement activation. He remained clinically stable and generally asymptomatic throughout the event, which fully resolved.

07:01 EDT Vertex announces long-term access agreement in Sweden for Orkambi - Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced that ORKAMBI, the first medicine to treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis in people with two copies of the F508del mutation, ages six and older, will be reimbursed in Sweden after concluding the three-party negotiations with TLV and the county councils. Reimbursement is effective from July 1. The innovative, long-term access agreement also provides a framework for the assessment and access of Vertex's future CF medicines. ORKAMBI is a combination of lumacaftor, which is designed to increase the amount of mature protein at the cell surface by targeting the processing and trafficking defect of the F508del-CFTR protein, and ivacaftor, which is designed to enhance the function of the CFTR protein once it reaches the cell surface. Lumacaftor/ivacaftor is available as tablets and is typically taken twice per day.

06:57 EDT Solid Biosciences Inc trading halted, news pending

06:51 EDT Apple's iOS 12 to securely, automatically share emergency location with 911 - iPhone users in the United States who call 911 will be able to automatically and securely share their location data with first responders beginning later this year with iOS 12, providing faster and more accurate information to help reduce emergency response times. Approximately 80% of 911 calls today come from mobile devices, but outdated, landline-era infrastructure often makes it difficult for 911 centers to quickly and accurately obtain a mobile caller's location. To address this challenge, Apple (AAPL) launched HELO (Hybridized Emergency Location) in 2015, which estimates a mobile 911 caller's location using cell towers and on-device data sources like GPS and WiFi Access Points. Apple announced it will also use emergency technology company RapidSOS's Internet Protocol-based data pipeline to quickly and securely share HELO location data with 911 centers, improving response time when lives and property are at risk. RapidSOS's system will deliver the emergency location data of iOS users by integrating with many 911 centers' existing software, which rely on industry-standard protocols.

06:46 EDT Brown & Brown announces asset acquisition of C & C Risk Services - J. Scott Penny, Chief Acquisitions Officer of Brown & Brown, and Craig S. Balco, Sr. and Christopher L. Fuller, the principals of C & C Risk Services, announced that a subsidiary of Brown & Brown has acquired substantially all of the assets of C & C Risk Services. Founded in 2013 by Craig Balco and Chris Fuller, C & C Risk Services is a managing general agent providing excess public entity insurance coverage to municipalities in Texas and Florida. The firm has annual revenues of approximately $1M. Following the acquisition, C & C Risk Services will operate as part of Brown & Brown's Wholesale Brokerage Division from its existing Texas and Florida locations.

06:39 EDT Nice Systems, IBM announce partnership - NICE (NICE) announced that it has partnered with IBM (IBM) and completed a certified integration of its NICE Trading Recording solution with IBM's Cloud Object Storage. Financial services organizations worldwide are under mounting pressure from MiFID II, MAR, Dodd-Frank and FX Code of Conduct to store and retain large volumes of communications, as regulations mandate recording of greater numbers of regulated users, asset classes, channels and devices. The integration of the two technologies means financial institutions can now leverage best-of-breed compliance recording and compatible cloud storage to securely and cost effectively retain, and easily access, growing volumes of financial communications required for regulatory compliance.

06:36 EDT Quotient reports Concordance data from MosaiQ European field trial - Quotient reported concordance data for the initial MosaiQ blood grouping microarray generated in its European field trial, which exceed the targeted criteria for submission for CE marking. Under the terms of the indenture governing its 12% Senior Secured Notes due 2023, Quotient now plans to issue an additional $36M of notes with funding to occur within 10 business days of the date of this press release. "It gives me great pleasure to report positive field trial results for our initial blood grouping microarray," said Franz Walt, CEO of Quotient. Mr. Walt added, "The achievement of this milestone will provide access to additional debt capital to fund the next important steps of our development, which include a CE mark submission, initial commercialization and the ongoing expansion of the MosaiQ test menu to include the second antigen typing microarray, our initial serological disease tests for CMV and Syphilis and ultimately the full serological and molecular disease screening microarrays." In connection with the issuance of the additional notes, the purchasers will also be allocated an additional 0.6% royalty right with respect to aggregate net sales of MosaiQ Instruments and MosaiQ Microarrays made in the donor testing market in the United States and the European Union.

06:35 EDT Catalyst Biosciences provides update on CB 2679d/ISU304 Factor IX program - Catalyst Biosciences provided an update on the ongoing Phase 1/2 trial investigating its next generation Factor IX candidate CB 2679d/ISU304 for the treatment of severe hemophilia B. In April 2018, the Phase 1/2 trial, which is being conducted by Catalyst's collaborator ISU Abxis in South Korea, was amended to add a Cohort 6. In this cohort, each patient receives a single loading dose of 75 IU/kg CB 2679d/ISU304 given intravenously, followed by nine daily subcutaneous doses of 150 IU/kg CB 2679d/ISU304, starting half an hour after the intravenous dose. To date, Cohort 6 has enrolled two patients out of a planned three to five and has shown promising efficacy in both. During the treatment period, FIX activity levels always remained above 20% after the IV loading dose in both patients. The first patient then had a progressive increase in trough FIX activity level to 34% and the second patient to a trough activity level of 31%. Patients with FIX levels between 5% and 40% are considered to have mild hemophilia, according to the World Federation of Hemophilia. Subsequent blood samples showed the presence of a transient neutralizing antibody in one patient and a neutralizing antibody in the second. Importantly from a safety perspective, the antibodies do not bind to wildtype FIX allowing both patients to successfully resume treatment with their prescribed intravenous FIX prophylaxis therapies; the patients have not experienced any bleeds or other safety issues and are being closely monitored. Prior to Cohort 6, no CB 2679d neutralizing antibodies had been detected in any of the patients treated with CB 2679d/ISU304, including both patients in Cohort 6 who had also participated in Cohort 5. Catalyst is conducting an analysis to assess the cause and impact of the antibody observations prior to dosing any further subjects in Cohort 6.

06:30 EDT Baytex Energy, Raging River to merge

06:07 EDT Alexco Resource acquires Contango Strategies - Alexco Resource announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Alexco Environmental Group Holdings, has acquired Contango Strategies, a private company based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for consideration of $1.39M comprising $971,600 in cash and 237,999 common shares of Alexco at a deemed value of $416,400. The common shares were valued at $1.75 per share using a 20 day volume weighted average price per share. Payment will be in two tranches with $1,018,000 and the remaining $370,000 cash payment to be made on the first anniversary of the transaction closing. The acquisition includes all of Contango's operations including $450,000 in working capital, property, plant and equipment at an estimated value of $330,000 and 20 full-time staff.

06:04 EDT Actress Mary McCormack claims husband's Tesla Model S burst into flames - Actress Mary McCormack tweeted this weekend: "@Tesla This is what happened to my husband and his car today. No accident,out of the blue, in traffic on Santa Monica Blvd. Thank you to the kind couple who flagged him down and told him to pull over. And thank god my three little girls weren't in the car with him." Reference Link

05:57 EDT BOK Financial to acquire CoBiz Financial in deal valued at about $1B - BOK Financial (BOKF) and CoBiz Financial (COBZ) announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement under which CoBiz will merge with BOK Financial in a transaction valued at approximately $1B. Approximately 75% of the consideration will be in stock, with the rest in cash. Based on the closing price of BOK Financial's common shares on June 15, 2018, common shareholders of CoBiz will receive $977 million of total consideration, consisting of 0.17 shares of BOK Financial common stock and $5.70 in cash for each share of CoBiz common stock. The merger consideration is valued at $23.02 per share, based on the closing price of BOK Financial on June 15, 2018. BOK Financial expects to incur pre-tax merger and integration costs of approximately $60 million and expects to achieve annual cost savings of approximately 40 percent of CoBiz's non-interest expense. BOK Financial expects this acquisition to be 6 percent accretive to earnings in 2019, and 9 percent accretive to earnings in 2020, the first full year with synergies. The transaction is expected to deliver an IRR of over 20 percent. The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of all customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals as well as the approval of CoBiz shareholders, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018.

05:53 EDT KBRwyle awarded seat on $900M DoD contract - KBR announced that its global government services business, KBRwyle, has secured a seat on a $900 million indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity, or IDIQ, contract to provide rapid solutions to fix problems identified through the Department of Defense's Joint Test and Evaluation, or JT&E, Program. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering Research and Development Center selected KBRwyle as one of the six prime contractors on this 10-year, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. KBRwyle won a seat on the previous JT&E Program contract in 2007. KBRwyle will assist the program in finding new ways for U.S. warfighters to accomplish their missions with today's equipment and processes. Under the multi-award contract, KBRwyle will have the opportunity to bid on task orders issued by the JT&E Program Offices to address and resolve critical warfighter issues. Utilizing its recognized systems engineering and test and evaluation expertise, KBRwyle's support will include test and evaluation, specialized engineering, cybersecurity, and intelligence.

05:29 EDT Perry Ellis enters into $437M 'going private' deal led by George Feldenkreis - Perry Ellis announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement under which a newly formed entity controlled by George Feldenkreis, Perry Ellis' founder and member of the company's board, will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Perry Ellis not already beneficially owned by the Feldenkreis family for $27.50 per share in cash. Additionally, the company and George Feldenkreis have agreed to defer the next annual meeting for the election of directors while the merger agreement is pending. The purchase price represents a premium of approximately 21.6 percent to Perry Ellis' unaffected closing stock price on February 5, the last trading day prior to George Feldenkreis announcing his proposal to take the company private. The transaction is valued at approximately $437M. The transaction was unanimously approved by the Perry Ellis board, acting on the unanimous recommendation of a Special Committee of independent directors that was granted full authority to conduct a comprehensive strategic review and evaluate and, if warranted, negotiate the Feldenkreis acquisition proposal.

05:23 EDT Google to invest $550M cash in JD.com as part of strategic partnership - JD.com (JD) and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) announced that Google will invest $550M in cash in JD.com as part of a strategic partnership. Google and JD plan to collaborate on a range of strategic initiatives, including joint development of retail solutions in a range of regions around the world, including Southeast Asia, the U.S. and Europe. By applying JD's supply chain and logistics expertise and Google's technology strengths, the two companies aim to explore the creation of next generation retail infrastructure solutions, with the goal of offering helpful, personalized and frictionless shopping experiences. JD also plans to make a selection of high-quality products available for sale through Google Shopping in multiple regions. Under the agreements, Google will receive 27.11M newly issued JD.com Class A ordinary shares at an issue price of $20.29 per share, equivalent to $40.58 per ADS, based on the volume-weighted average trading price over the prior 10 trading days.

05:11 EDT Nestle, XPO Logistics co-creating 638,000-square-foot distribution center in UK - Nestle (NSRGY) and XPO Logistics (XPO) are co-creating a 638,000-square-foot distribution center at the new SEGRO East Midlands Gateway Logistics Park in Leicestershire, UK. The facility, a digital warehouse of the future, will be occupied predominantly by Nestle for its consumer packaged goods and will function as a testbed environment for XPO technology prototypes prior to global release. The custom-designed distribution center, scheduled for completion in 2020, will feature advanced sorting systems and robotics alongside state-of-the-art automation co-developed with Swisslog Logistics Automation. The site's digital ecosystem will integrate predictive data and intelligent machines to deliver one of the most advanced distribution management centers in the world, giving consumers faster, more efficient access to KITKAT, MAGGI, NESCAFE and other much-loved Nestle brands. The XPO-owned facility will be strategically located in the Midlands to benefit from direct access to the M1 motorway for road transport, the East Midlands Airport for cargo flights, and an onsite rail freight terminal with direct access to the major UK ports of Southampton, Felixstowe, London Gateway and the Channel Tunnel.